The show of force for Team Kingston at Marietta Square on Sunday afternoon left the stage practically groaning by the end.

Kingston first called up his wife, mother and four children. Then he brought back Karen Handel and Phil Gingrey — his former Republican primary foes who introduced him to the crowd — and a cavalcade of other local officials. They led the remaining crowd in a chorus of “Proud to be an American” and a call, as usual, for everyone to get their friends out to vote Tuesday.

Kingston made a five-minute speech, sparing his struggling voice, and acknowledged another Cobb County political figure — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich:

“Here in what was and still is in so many respects Newt Gingrich territory, this in so many ways was the birthmark of the Contract With America. And I believe what we need right now as a conservative family is another Contract With America.”

The Republican runoff campaign for U.S. Senate, like the GOP primary before it, has been notable for the absence of rhetoric intended to rally religious conservative voters.

Possibly this is a sign that David Perdue and Jack Kingston see eye-to-eye on such things as gay marriage and abortion – possibly it’s because neither one wants to give Democrat Michelle Nunn a target for the general election that begins Wednesday.

But Perdue is making a last-minute attempt to bring these voters into play. Below is a robocall that we’re told went out Saturday night, The voice belongs to the Rev. Benny Tate, pastor of Rock Springs Church, of the Congregational Methodist strain, in Milner, Ga. – that’s just south of Griffin:

“…Christians need to head to the polls on Tuesday, because our values are under attack in Washington. We need someone who will stand up for our principles and push back against this liberal assault.

“I’m urging you to vote for David Perdue for U.S. Senate. David is a God-fearing man who shares our beliefs. I’ve looked him in the eye, and I know he’s a man of integrity. He was raised in middle Georgia by parents who instilled in him at an early age a foundation of faith in God. And he’s never forgotten those values….”

Perdue is scheduled to attend Tate’s church this afternoon and meet privately with the reverend.

***

Jack Kingston’s voice is shot.

The Congressman greeted about two dozen supporters at a home in Canton with an apology that the relentless campaign had rendered his voice weak and gravelly. Fortunately, his sidekick Karen Handel had whipped up some “witchcraft” concoction, Kingston quipped, that he hoped would help. Handel has been at his side a lot lately, as Kingston has counted on the third place finisher in the May primary to help him drum up votes in Tuesday’s runoff.

Jack Kingston speaks to supporters in Canton.

Kingston called Handel the “cornerstone” of his final push, making calls — for money or just support — and spending time out on the trail.

Handel urged the attendees at the home of Teri and John Marinko, which included several local Republican Party officials and state Reps. Scot Turner and Michael Caldwell, to get their friends out to the polls on Tuesday.

“The [turnout] projection was somewhere between 8 and 10 percent. The weather is going to be terrible. It’s supposed to keep raining through Tuesday. So now that’s potentially 5 to 7 percent turnout. That means this is a crap shoot.”

Kingston acknowledged some confidence about his position — as public polls show him ahead — but with the attack ads flying in the closing days he is leaving nothing to chance:

Going down the home stretch we feel good about things, but you never know – going up against a self-funder – what can happen. And I always think about this as a whitewater raft, with long twists and turns. And right when you think ‘OK, we’re going to make it happen.’ Then you get a new set of rapids.”

He attacked businessman David Perdue as someone who does not know or understand the Republican activists who have worked for decades to build the party in Georgia, who have put up the yard signs and licked the envelopes and gone to the Saturday morning breakfasts.

“I know what it was like, how difficult it was,” said Kingston, who got his start as an activist in the College Republicans in the 1970s. “Having been a fighter for the conservative cause for so long, I don’t apologize for that.”

***

David Perdue’s first stop on Saturday morning was at Cofer Brothers Lumber, where a supporter had conveniently left him a hammer he could use to pummel Rep. Jack Kingston, his opponent in Tuesday’s runoff contest. The former Fortune 500 chief executive said another tool would be more apt for this stage in the campaign.

A tracker waits in the rain to catch an image of Senate candidate David Perdue campaigning in the final days before Tuesday’s runoff vote.

Both campaigns and their supporters have unleashed millions of dollars worth of negative ads and uplifting TV spots in the final stretch of the campaign, meant to boost their candidates, ding their rivals or simply confuse or depress voters to the point where they simply stay home.

(The Chamber, for its part, has said the 13-year path to citizenship outlined in the Senate-passed immigration bill – which Kingston has repeatedly said he would not support – does not qualify as “amnesty.”)

At the stop, Perdue and his supporters said their tracking figures indicated a race much tighter than the WSB-TV poll released on Friday. That poll, by right-leaning Landmark Communications, gave Kingston a seven-point lead over his GOP rival.

“I’m very excited about where we are,” said Perdue. “It’s tight but we got momentum. And we’re going to shock some people Tuesday. There’s some powerbrokers who are really throwing their weight and money around. And it’s not sticking.”

Archives

For any who may have followed my thinking regarding voting in the Republican primary tomorrow, I wish to post the following.

I had previously crossed over political parties to vote for Republican Dr. John Barge for Georgia's Governor because, imho, he has sacrificed his own political career in order to save public education for all of Georgia's public school students. Regarding my voting plans for tomorrow in the Republican Run-off, I have altered my earlier voting thoughts in casting a vote for a political strategy purpose. I have now decided that I cannot lend my name, which represents who and what I am, via how I vote, to either Republican candidate for the U. S. Senate from Georgia. Because I do not support the political positions of either David Perdue or Jack Kingston, I will not be voting for either of these two candidates. The election tomorrow will fall as it will without any vote from me for Georgia's U. S. Senator. I will, however, vote tomorrow for Dr. Mike Buck for Georgia's Superintendent of Schools, a colleague of Dr. John Barge.

In November, I will vote for Michelle Nunn for U. S. Senator from Georgia, for Jason Carter for Governor of Georgia, and, hopefully, for Valarie Wilson as Georgia's Superintendent of Schools, if she wins tomorrow's Democratic Run-off.

I voted for Kingston in primary because, I thought, he was more moderate than the others. His attack mail on Perdue's willingness to raise debt ceiling changed my mind. Refusing to pay, thus allowing government to default after a budget is agreed on is insanity.

...and Mary Nunn and Jason Carter are??? Heck Mary is bascially using her dad's name and his contacts; Jason Carter is using the fact that he is not the Crook Deal. I need something other than that as I reason to vote for either one.

The GOP's racist and bigoted stance towards governance is going to come back to haunt them in November. African-American voters have a long memory especially when it comes to the everything from the birther movement to obstruction to disenfranchisement of minority voters with ridiculous voter ID laws and just flat out lying about President Obama. Best believe a stern message will be sent to the GOP at the voting booth.

The sad thing about the difference between Kingston and Perdue is that there isn't really any difference between them. They are both full of empty talking points with no actual defined goals that will help the citizens of this state. Neither candidate is suitable to be a Senator.

Who is talking about roads and bridges? Who is talking about education? Who is talking about the elephant in the living room?

While candidates and commenters rail on who's a RINO and who's really conservative and why nobody should believe the biased media and spend millions on ads about illegal immigration, NOBODY talks about what they are going to do about the elephant: Alzheimer's. Over 5 million today (half the total of illegal immigrants) but in the next two decades there will be more victims than illegals.

In an aging population, one would think this gets some kind of priority. Consider:

Alzheimer's disease is the most expensive condition in the nation.

In 2014, the direct costs to American society of caring for those with Alzheimer's will total an estimated $214 billion, including $150 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid. Despite these staggering figures, Alzheimer's will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion (in today's dollars) in 2050.

I plan to vote for Perdue so we have a choice in Nov between two candidates without political ties or experience. That then wouldn't be an issue. Kingston has a lot of tenure - but what has he accomplished in that time?

I spent the last few day in Florida at the beach and only had to endure a couple of their current Governor Scott the big Medicaid crook when he was the CEO of HCA trying to put out a bunch of lies about Charlie Christ. Charlie Crist is saving his money, since everyone in Florida wants Medicaid expansion and is planning to vote Scott out for that and not taking Federal Transportation money.

It was nice to avoid the Georgia clowns with their TV ads. Michelle Nunn can win this with a simple positive campaign.

Kumchak: Apparently you are not at all familiar with the African churches through out Georgia and their "political chats" from the pulpits in the past many years. it goes on - yes even in your type churches.

When it came time for the two parties to choose an emblem, logo or Avatar (if you prefer), there were only two choices left: The Jacka-- and the Elephant. The Demokrats won the coin toss and the rest is history.

Actually, (dis)honest, I don't watch much TV, even FOX and none of the LameStreams guys. i prefer travel, making money (and lots of it) and reading. Playing word games with you idiots on this blog has eaten into my International Date Line contacts where I go to make buy/sells, so in a few minutes, I'm history for tonight.

Compared to you guys that must be back by 19.00 hrs., I lose my computer rights but at least they won't put my "jacket" on again. BTW, does that contraption restrict your breathing in any way? If so, you should complain to the management...they always appreciate a good laugh.

@MichaelHannigan@Kamchak Well, I wrote the Catholic Arch Bishop Previous to the current one that we have now and told him that the Arch Diocesan Fund would not get a dime from me as long as he was Promoting George W. Bush or any other Republican candidates. I told him that many of the Catholics responsible for the growth of the Catholic church in Georgia were like me, we grew up in the much more liberal NE and Midwestern Catholic Churches. We grew up as Kennedy Democrats. We believed in providing for the least of our brother. I went to a Catholic University that sponsored a Lesbian and Gay Club back in 1980.

I think you must have some undocumented mental illness. Especially, if you believe that black people are incapable of intelligent thoughts to be able to determine the best candidates that represents us because we have to be told who to vote for. We are not airheaded southern conservative white women who need theirs husbands to make decisions for them.

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